Instagram model faces backlash after letting boyfriend splash her buttocks with holy water from Bali temple
An Instagram-famous couple from the Czech Republic was forced to apologize after sharing a video in which they were seen splashing each other with holy water at a sacred temple in Bali.
The clip which was taken down by the couple after they received backlash for their "disgusting" actions, was initially posted by the "Fitspo" model Sabina Dolezalo on Instagram on August 9, which also featured her boyfriend, Zdenek Slouka. The pair have a combined Instagram following of 85,000.
In the video, which was filmed by a third person in the Beji Temple in the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in the village of Padangtegal, the couple was seen giggling near a fountain. At one point Dolezalova lifted her skirt and bent over, while her boyfriend filled his hand with holy water from the fountain and slapped her twice on her buttocks. The camera cut off after the model shrieked.
Dr. Arya Wedakarna, a Bali senator, reposted the video on her Instagram account, where she has a following of 172,000, calling the actions of the Czech tourists "insensitive," adding that the couple was "harassing" the temple.
The video soon went viral, with a number of people calling for a ban against the Dolezalo and Slouka from ever visiting Bali in the future.
“As a tourist, you should have learned about the local culture, religion, and what you can do or what you can't do before you came to the country that you want to visit,” one Instagram user wrote, while another commented, "I am not Balinese and not Hindu, but I am very insulted by their stupidity. It's really insulting to Indonesia."
After being severely criticized for their actions, the couple recorded another video, where both of them apologized.
“We are so sorry about the video from yesterday, we dishonored the holy temple and holy water in Ubud and we didn’t know it,” Slouka began. “So, we are so sorry about what happened.”
“We had no idea [about] the holy water, holy temple… we really didn’t want to do anything bad, we are so truly sorry, and we hope you can forgive us,” Dolezalova added. “Now, we are just trying to do what we [can] to fix it.”
After the incident was reported by the mainstream media, Dolezalova made her Instagram account private.
To express her regret, Dolezalo also made a financial donation to a local village in Bali. "Whatever amount Sabina and her friends give, it is up to them and purely voluntary,” Daniel Šimkovič, the woman’s manager, told local media, Fox News reported.
